Paige Bueckers shot up the blood pressure of Dallas GM Curt Miller months before she was even drafted. It started with the viral video of new Wings general manager Curt Miller’s reaction when the franchise won the draft lottery for the No. 1 overall pick only days after he was hired. “I absolutely lost my mind. … We knew what that meant at that moment,” the GM said later on. Considering she was following Caitlin Clark as the No.1 draft pick, the anticipation was even higher than usual.
Bueckers had single-handedly sent the excitement in Dallas through the roof as, within days after the draft lottery, the Wings had sold out their season ticket allotment. The team also expanded the regional TV broadcast deal to reach 6.2 million homes. The millions expected a season turnaround with Bueckers’ addition after a disappointing season. The expectations, however, are still that, just expectations; They were never met by a side that is stumbling to their 2024 ways with an 8-22 record so far. The supreme difference between expectation and reality is causing some dirt to be thrown on Bueckers online. However, this reporter has pointed out the unfairness in the situation.
CBS Reporter Ashley Nicole Moss said on the “We Need To Talk” podcast, “I think people think, and I think they do this in the NBA as well. That one player is going to make a drastic difference and just completely turn around a franchise. And I think it’s a lot of pressure to put on rookies. But more importantly, I just think that it’s just not feasible when you don’t have a roster that can compete with some of the other rosters in the WNBA.”
Like Moss mentioned, even in the NBA, the pressure is on the Dallas Mavericks’ No.1 pick Cooper Flagg to take the throne of their former superstar Luka Doncic. “We’re in win-now mode, and so he adds to that, but he’s also the future of the franchise,” Mavs general manager Nico Harrison said at Flagg’s introductory news conference. The same was put on Bueckers right from the start. They pinned their hopes on Bueckers to get the W’s. Even with one of the highest salaries in the league at $1,474,065, they failed to form a competitive team around Bueckers. Moss further compared the pressure on previous generational rookies.
She further said, “And I remember we were doing this with Caitlin. We were doing this with Angel. We were doing this with so many rookies. And it’s just a lot of pressure to put on one player who’s trying to make that transition themselves.”
Clark arguably had the most pressure among all three. She had more people watching her every move, more than any other WNBA player, forget rookie. Clark’s debut against the Connecticut Sun drew 2.1 million viewers across all platforms, making it the most-watched WNBA game on ESPN at the time.
Angel Reese was expected to continue their legacy after making the playoffs for 5 consecutive years. While Reese and Bueckers have largely failed to immediately elevate their teams as compared to Clark, Clark arguably had a better situation, too. She had Aliyah Boston, the 2023 No.1 Draft Pick, as the partner in crime. The Fever actually built a team around the two and made the playoffs for the first time in a decade last year, and are improving on it this year. Considering Clark’s impact, a similar progress was virtually expected on Bueckers as the next No.1 draft pick, who was also a point guard. Moss further explained how Bueckers is still part of an undercooked team.
She said, “So I was kind of seeing things like, ‘Oh, how are the Wings not better?” It’s because Paige wasn’t supposed to be the end-all be-all. This was just a huge asset, a huge acquisition that you could build around, but it wasn’t going to be the only piece to take them to that next level.”
Bueckers has been one of the best players in the league, but that hasn’t stopped them from losing games. On top of that, they have an inexperienced coach in Chris Koclanes, and with the DiJonai Carrington trade, the Wings seem to be moving towards a complete rebuild rather than being in limbo. The Dallas side is not stopping there as they reportedly want to make another trade possible.
Why The Dallas Wings Did Not Make Any Further Moves
Dallas has not been shy about making big trades this season. In the offseason, they were a part of the three-team trade that was the highlight of the offseason. After the season started, NaLyssa Smith was separated from Carrington earlier in the season as they traded her to the Aces for the 2027 first-round pick. They recently traded Carrington for Diamond Miller, Karlie Samuelson, and Minnesota’s 2027 second-round draft pick. Samuelson was released shortly after the trade. However, they were rumored to make another addition.
According to Joey Mistretta of ClutchPoints, the Wings “could” have tried and brought in another player. However, even Mistretta’s source referred to it as a “50/50” situation. It likely meant that the management was already internally unsure of the need to bring in a player, or they didn’t have a suitable player in sight. If they had decided to go with the addition, “they would have tried to acquire either a small or power forward.”
Source tells me Wings “may” make one more addition before trade deadline. Calls it “50/50” at the moment.
If Wings add, they will try to acquire either a small or power forward.#WingsUp
— Joey Mistretta (@JoeyMistretta_) August 7, 2025
They might not have gone for the trade because they are content with their current young core. Another side could be that the trades wanted a sacrifice of one of their three first-round picks over the 2026 and 2027 WNBA Drafts, and considering the current atmosphere, youth is their formula.
The post $1.47M Wings Gamble Can’t Shift Paige Bueckers From Caitlin Clark & Angel Reese’s Troubled WNBA Path, Says Insider appeared first on EssentiallySports.